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This recipe has been brewing in the old noggin for quite some time. In fact, it was several months ago that I had a conversation with The Bestie about the fine nuances of creamed corn and corn pudding. Being a Yankee, I know not of corn pudding and had to research it. The goal here was to come up with a soup that captured the flavors and textures of creamed corn; velvety but with a nice corny crunch. I settled on a chowder style and it was met with enthusiasm by my offspring (the one that will eat corn anyway).

Makes 4-6 servings

Takes 30-40 minutes

Ingredients:

4 slices bacon, chopped

1/2 a medium onion, chopped

1 small carrot, chopped

1 rib celery, chopped

2 tbsp butter, unsalted

1/2 log (about 4oz) cream cheese, full fat, room temperature

1C heavy whipping cream

2 lbs fresh or frozen sweet corn (no canned)

4C chicken stock or broth (low sodium)

black pepper, to taste

1) In a Dutch oven heat bacon over medium high heat until fat is rendered and bacon is cooked and brown. Remove bacon from pan and set aside.

It’s that magical time of year, so here’s pumpkins, apples, and all things fall!

Originally posted October 2014.

Yesterday I went apple picking and picked out some pumpkins. Yes, I was THAT GIRL, walking around the orchard in a scarf and a chambray shirt, picking apples. Today I have more apples than you can shake a stick at. Hence, today’s Gratuitous Fall Cooking Blog: apples, pumpkins, and warm spices. Put on your riding boots and let’s embrace autumn!

1) In a crockpot or slow-cooker spread a layer of apples, onions, and carrots.

The apples we picked were golden delicious and another one that was “like a Jonathan”. I used a little of both, and threw in a couple of carrots since I had them laying around.

2) Lay the pork loin over the apples, onions, and carrots. Season with salt and pepper.

My 3-pound pork loin actually ended up being 2 smaller ones packed together. I’m cool with that, leftover pork loin makes awesome sandwiches and can even be chopped and used as an omlette filling!

3) Pour wine over everything until mostly covered. I used Briolette Apple wine (shout out to my new gig) but you could use a Riesling or even beer in it’s place.

The wine pictured is Briolette Cut, a seasonal Apple wine from my new gig at Weston Wine Company!

4) Slow cook at 200F 8-10 hours or until tender, serve over noodles, or with roasted potatoes.

Roasted Pumpkin Purée
Make your own puréed pumpkin and never buy canned again! The possibilities are endless!

Ingredients:
2 pumpkins, I used one regular pie pumpkin and one Amish pie pumpkin

On the left is the regular pie pumpkin, on the right is the Amish. Pie pumpkins are in general better for making pies because there is way more flesh inside. I decided to try both to see what the difference was.1) Preheat oven to 350F

2) Cut the pumpkins into quarters and remove the stems. The stem on the Amish pumpkin popped off much more easily than the stem on the regular pumpkin.

Here’s the inside of the Amish pumpkin. The seeds are quite a bit smaller than a traditional pie pumpkin. No extra charge for dramatic lighting. 🙂

The inside of the traditional pie pumpkin. See how thick the flesh is? Imagine trying to make a jack o’ lantern out of this baby.

3) Scoop out the seeds and gooey stuff and set aside. Toasted pumpkin seeds are yummy!

4) Place skin-side-down on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 45 mins.
5) Remove from oven and allow pumpkins to cool at least 10 mins until able to handle easily.

Freshly-roasted pumpkin!

6) When cooled, remove flesh from skins and place in blender. Blend flesh until smooth. I added about 1/4 C of water to help it blend more smoothly.

Pumpkin in my blender getting puréed.

7) Allow to cool at least 30 mins. Maybe be frozen or used immediately in place of canned pumpkin, such as in pumpkin pie. This recipe made enough pumpkin puréefor 2 9-inch deep-dish pies. The equivalent of about 2 cans.

I’ve been slogging along with writing, testing, and sometimes re-writing recipes for my cookbook for some time now. I currently have 16 completed recipes, which doesn’t seem like much until you realize that each recipe may need to be tested and re-tested multiple times.
This is a spring/summer pea soup. The lemon and mint bring a light freshness. It finishes with the lovely tang of a swirl of Greek yogurt.